PRESCOTT HAD LEANED BACK against the cushion of the booth, his glass in hand, taking a sip of the red wine he’d ordered to accompany the pasta. Quite the sophisticated diner.
With Caroline’s question, he almost jackknifed into his plate, sputtering wine everywhere. “I—we—you—”
“We didn’t do anything…together, that is,” Caroline assured him. Even if he didn’t admit he’d lied, after his reaction, she felt confident that he had. “So now I’d like you to explain why you claimed to be the father of my baby.”
“You visited me!” Prescott gasped, his last-ditch effort undermined by his pale cheeks.
“Give it up, man,” Max advised, a grim smile on his face.
Slumping back against the cushions again, Prescott sighed and avoided Caroline’s gaze. “Okay. I lied.”
“Yes, but why?” She leaned forward, eager for his response.
“Look, Caroline, I’ve always admired you. You weren’t interested, I knew that. But you were in trouble, and…and it wouldn’t hurt me in your dad’s eyes if I helped you out.”
“Helped me out?” Caroline gasped. “Don’t you think claiming to have fathered my baby goes a little beyond ‘helping me out’?”
“Maybe,” Prescott admitted, “but I had good intentions.”
“What about the other guy?” Max asked.
Prescott’s eyes narrowed and he asked cautiously, “You mean Adrian?”
“Have there been any others claiming my baby?” Caroline asked in exasperation.
“I don’t know anything about Adrian and you. The two of you have gone out, like us, but mostly to social events your father or your mother insisted you attend.”
“Where was he the end of June?”
“I don’t know, Caroline, really, I don’t. I worked my tail off on that project. Your dad’s getting ready to make a decision about which one of us will be promoted to second in command. I thought I could sway his decision by bringing that project in on time.”
“It sounds like a good plan to me,” Max murmured.
“If you think efficiency would win out over a son-in-law, the father of his grandchild, I’ve got some swampland in Florida to sell you,” Prescott said.
“Good point,” Max agreed with a rueful grin.
Caroline stared at the two of them. “Great! Just great! I’m being discussed like a fringe benefit and you two are bonding! Men!”
Both of them hurried to assure her that they would never think of her as a Christmas bonus or a three-day weekend, at least that was her interpretation of their protestations, but Caroline had heard enough.
“I have a headache,” she announced, and asked Max to let her out of the booth.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“You came in a taxi. I’ll take you home.”
“I can take her home. I live near her parents’ house,” Prescott assured Max. “It’ll save you a long drive.”
“I don’t mind.”
“You don’t have to worry about me chasing after her now. She probably won’t speak to me after tonight.”
“Naw, she wouldn’t hold a grudge that long.”
“Excuse me,” Caroline raged. “Why don’t you two gentlemen flip a coin while I go powder my nose.”
She really only intended to powder her nose, but as she reached the lobby of the restaurant, she saw a couple just exiting a taxi. It took only a minute to take their place. With a message to be delivered by the maître d’, along with a healthy tip, she climbed into the taxi, gave her address and leaned back, closing her eyes.
She’d tried to do too much so soon after her accident. But at least she’d eliminated one suitor. Now if she could just find a way to get rid of Adrian.
And then she could decide what to do about Max.
“SIR, THE LADY SAID TO tell you that she took a taxi.”
“How did she find a taxi so quickly?” Max asked, staring at the maître d’.
“Some customers were arriving in one and she took it.”
Max thanked the man for delivering the message and settled back with a frown.
“That’s Caroline for you,” Prescott muttered. “She’s always been damned independent. She drives her father crazy.”
“I can believe that, but I’m not her father, and it’s about time she learned that.” Max reached for his back pocket.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to see Caroline home.”
“But she just left.”
“Uh-uh.” Max signaled to the waiter. “By the way, you didn’t turn up here accidentally, did you?”
“No. I was waiting for Caroline when the chauffeur returned, and he told me where you were.”
“I thought as much.” When he pulled out his credit card, Prescott stopped him.
“I’ll take care of the bill, Max. After all, I horned in on the two of you. Go ahead and do whatever you’re going to do. I wish you luck.”
“Thanks,” Max said, shaking Prescott’s hand.
Then he was up and out of there, in pursuit of a very stubborn lady. He was determined to beat her to her house. If he didn’t, he was afraid she wouldn’t see him.
Once he turned off the freeway, he kept his eyes open for a taxi. When he spotted one just a block ahead of him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He passed the taxi about two blocks before Caroline’s house. In the darkness, he could see only one passenger. He hoped it was Caroline. Pulling into the driveway, he pressed the button, hoping someone would let him in.
“Yes?”
“Mrs. Lamb? This is Max Daniels. Caroline is on her way home and I’d like to come in and wait for her.”
“Of course, Mr. Daniels.”
Without any more conversation, the big gates swung open. He hadn’t expected it to be that easy. When he stopped his car in front of the door, he got out and leaned against it, waiting for Caroline. He didn’t want to wait inside.
And all the while, he worried that the taxi he’d seen might not have been Caroline’s. He was going to feel pretty dumb if she didn’t come home.
Two minutes later, he heard the gates swing open again. Tensing, he watched as the taxi pulled to a stop beside his car. He swung open the taxi door as Caroline was paying the fee. She gasped, obviously not having noticed that he was there.
“What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you.”
The taxi driver looked from him to Caroline. “Lady, if there’s a problem, I can call the cops.”
She shook her head, much to Max’s relief. “No, that’s not necessary.”
Caroline got out of the taxi, after giving the driver what must have been a generous tip, from the delight on his face, and they both stood silently, watching the taxi depart. Then she faced him, her chin tilted at its most stubborn angle.
“Why did you follow me?”
“I don’t think you can call it following since I got here first,” he said, glaring at her.
She stamped her foot. “Max! Why are you here?”
“Because something I was about to do got interrupted, and I refuse to be put off any longer.” He didn’t wait to see if she asked for an explanation. He was tired of waiting. Tired of being interrupted. And most tired of not touching her. As she opened her mouth to protest, he pulled her into his arms and lowered his lips to hers.
The magic that always filled him at her touch returned full force. All he could think about was her. His hands caressed her back, circling her slim form while his mouth held hers captive.
When he finally came up for air, he muttered, as if in explanation so she wouldn’t know how much she affected him, “I don’t like my dates running out on me.”
She tried to pull away but he held her tighter. “You’re not going anywhere, Caroline, until you promise to stop doing that.”
“I only did it once, Max. I don’t think you could call that a habit,” she protested.
Her body pressed against his mad
e it hard to think, but he reminded her, “You ran out on me the morning after we made love.”
“We only made love once?”
“Yeah.” Though he’d planned on many more nights spent with her in his arms.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did we only make love once? Didn’t you want to again?”
There was a quaver in her voice that almost brought him to his knees. She had no idea how much she affected him. Gruffly he replied, “I told you. You ran out on me.”
As she stared up at him, her gaze puzzled, one hand slipped up his chest to caress the nape of his neck. Shivers ran down his spine and he tightened his hold on her as his lips took hers again.
“Max!” Caroline protested when he released her at last. “You—you shouldn’t—”
“Yes, I should. I should take you to my bed and never let you out of it,” he growled.
Before he could kiss her again, she put her hand between their lips. “But Max, why did I leave?”
“I don’t know, damn it!” Frustration filled him for several different reasons. “I didn’t know why, and I couldn’t find you. I still don’t know why. But at least I know where to find you.” And he showed her by claiming her lips again. As his hands caressed her, they encountered the buttons on her blouse. Though Max would have liked nothing better than to strip naked on the spot, both of them, some remnant of sanity, or the cool night air on her skin made Caroline corral his searching fingers.
“Max,” she protested, breaking off their kiss, “Let’s go inside.” Slowly she pulled away from him, the clouds of passion gradually clearing in her eyes.
“Inside?” he asked, his desire unabated.
“Yes, come inside, Max.” She took out her key and opened the front door. Mrs. Lamb appeared in the hallway only seconds after. “It’s only me, Mrs. Lamb, with Max. We’re—we’re going to talk a little in the sun room.”
Talk wasn’t what he was interested in. He followed her into the sun room, wondering if she would let him touch her again. He felt like a starving man having only had his hunger aroused after ignoring it for too long. He needed to touch her again.
Much to his delight, she turned into his arms as soon as he closed the door behind them.
“Max, this feels so right. I can’t—I don’t want to hold back.”
“You won’t get any argument from me, sweetheart,” he assured her as he held her against him. “No argument at all.”
Just as he was lowering his lips to hers, however, she said, “I wish it had been more than once.”
Max froze, puzzling over her words. When he could make no sense out of them, he asked, “Why?”
“Because it might explain why I ran away.” She backed away from him, as if she feared his nearness would undermine her resolve.
“What are you talking about?” he asked as he followed her.
“Think about it, Max. It’s obvious I—I’m attracted to you. I can hardly keep my hands off you. Why would I run away from that?” She didn’t wait for an answer, assuming he had one. “But if I’d had a fight with, say, Adrian, and run away, I might have felt that I’d betrayed him when you and I—when we—”
Max eliminated the distance between them in a flash and drew her against him again. “No! Look, we didn’t just meet one day and fall into bed! That’s not how I operate!”
“I don’t think it’s how I operate, either,” Caroline said with a rueful laugh, “but I can’t remember.”
“Well, I can. And I know a classy lady when I see one,” he added, his lips caressing hers again. He almost lost track of what he’d been going to say as remembered sensations filled him. Making love to Caroline had been like nothing he’d experienced before.
He broke off the kiss to continue before it was too late. “When I met you, you didn’t come on to me, or even really flirt with me. Not then. We just talked. But there was something between us, some spark, or pull. I can’t explain it, but I’ve never felt it before.”
“Well, obviously, we’re sexually compatible,” Caroline offered, laying her head on his shoulder.
“I’ve been sexually compatible before,” he said dryly, and felt her tense up against him.
“With whom?” she demanded, a fierce frown on her face.
He dropped a quick kiss onto her lips and stepped away. “No one you’d know, but I’m thirty-four. Did you expect me to be a virgin?”
“Isn’t that what men always want? Why can’t I want the same thing?”
“You can, but you won’t get it with me. Besides, that’s a little unreasonable since you’re the one with three men claiming your baby.”
“Prescott lied,” she hurriedly said.
“And Adrian?”
She turned away from him. “I don’t know. I worry about it all the time.” Turning to face him, she said, “That’s why I thought—it would’ve been better if we’d had a—a relationship, not a one-night stand.”
“Wait a minute, lady. It wasn’t a one-night stand.”
“Why not? It only happened once, you said. It was at night, wasn’t it?” Though she was smiling, there was a worried look in her eyes that moved him.
“Do you always take things this literally?” he teased, stepping to her side and rubbing her shoulders. “It wasn’t a one-night stand, at least on my part, because if I’d had a choice, I would never have let you out of my bed again.”
“Never? You must have incredible stamina,” she said, smiling at him even as she wrapped her arms around his neck, inviting his kiss again.
Max more than met her halfway, putting aside any idea of discussing their past. She was in his arms again and he never wanted to let her go.
She broke away from him. “Max, did—did you think about a future? For us, I mean?”
“Hell, yes! I told you I didn’t ever intend to let you go.”
“No, you said you didn’t intend to let me out of your bed. That’s a little different from what I’m asking,” she pointed out ruefully.
“You’re asking if I had honorable intentions?” He pulled her closer to him again. “Yeah, I did. I didn’t want to rush you, but I had every intention of marrying you.”
“But you’ve never married before?”
“Nope.”
“Why? Don’t you want a family?”
“I want you. And whatever comes with you. And that’s the reason I’ve never married. I never met a woman I couldn’t live without. Until I met you.”
He saw tears in her eyes and pressed her head against his shoulder. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.”
“It’s okay,” she said, her voice muffled. “I didn’t even realize I wanted a family until I found out about the baby. But I do. I want a real family, a daddy, too. And, oh, Max, I want that daddy to be you!”
A YEARNING FILLED Caroline, so strong that it almost obliterated any restraint. She wanted to belong to this man, as old-fashioned as that sounded. She also wanted him to belong to her. Something deep within her shouted that he was her perfect mate.
But had she realized that fact before or after she’d slept with another man?
She shoved such destroying thoughts aside. Tonight, she only wanted Max to fill her mind. She wanted—
“Caroline?” Mrs. Lamb called through the door.
Caroline was greatly relieved the housekeeper hadn’t entered, since Max was holding her tightly against him and her hair and makeup showed the signs of their embrace.
“Yes, Mrs. Lamb?”
“I just wondered if you two wanted something to snack on?”
“I’m only hungry for you,” Max whispered in her ear, a melodramatic leer on his face.
She ignored him. “Thank you, Mrs. Lamb. That would be nice.”
“I’ll bring a tray, then.”
She moved away from Max as Mrs. Lamb’s footsteps faded down the hallway.
“Change your mind?”
He’d followed her.
“About what?”
�
��About us,” he reminded her, slipping his arms around her again.
“Not exactly,” she said, turning to face him within his embrace. “It’s just that—that we have too many questions facing us to just forget about the past.”
“I thought that was exactly what you’d done,” he reminded her, a grin on his lips.
“Max, be serious. I did, but you know it wasn’t on purpose. It’s so daunting, having no past, no memories. I think what we’ve just shared is really special, but how do I know? I have nothing to compare it to.”
“Just trust your heart, Caroline. Or trust me. I can assure you it’s special.”
She played with a button on his shirt, twisting and turning it, trying to figure out how to explain her confusion. He lifted her face up with a determined finger under her chin.
“Well?”
She laid her head on his shoulder. “I want to trust you, Max, but even if what we shared was special, we don’t know if I found that out after I got pregnant, or before.”
For the first time, he moved away from her. “Prescott was lying.”
“I know, and it’s a great relief to have eliminated someone! But as much as I want him to be a liar, too, I don’t know that Adrian is. Apparently, I did go out with him often. And he seems quite sure that he’s the father.”
“Doesn’t that strike you as weird? That he would be so sure that he’s the father? You spent two weeks with me. Didn’t he even wonder where you were?”
“I don’t know! I’ve only spoken to him the night you all came to dinner. Last night. I haven’t had time to investigate his claim.”
“You sound like a damned insurance investigator, Caroline! We’re talking about making love!”
“Oh, thanks for telling me. I was confusing being pregnant with a car wreck! Throwing up always does that to me!” She moved across the room, putting more distance between them, glaring at him.
“Caroline, you’re not being very—”
Another knock on the door preceded Mrs. Lamb’s entrance with a well-filled tray of snacks and drinks. “Here you are. I wasn’t sure what Mr. Daniels liked, so I fixed a lot of different things.”
Caroline turned with relief to the housekeeper. At least with Mrs. Lamb, everything was straightforward. Not like the maze her emotions were in concerning Max. “Thanks, Lambie. You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble.”
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